Window
by RynThorn
Summary: Set after Season 4, Chloe is still heartbroken over Lucifer's return to Hell. She decides to start praying to him in order to get closure. Meanwhile, Lucifer has forgotten all about Chloe's existence.
1. Chapter 1

Window: Chapter One

* * *

Author's Note: This is my first ever story. I wrote it mostly for me, but if other people like it, the more the merrier. It was inspired by a Tumblr post I read about Chloe praying to Lucifer and the description of author ShroudedSilhouette's story.

* * *

Chloe, it's time." Dan even managed to look sympathetic when he said it, his eyes looking at her softly. She could tell it had taken him awhile to work up the nerve to approach her about it. She knew everyone was thinking it. A part of her even knew they were right. "It's been six months. You need to accept that it's time to get a new partner. The Lieutenant already said that I could be the one to work with you. Come on, Chloe. It'll be fun. And it'll be good for Trixie to see us spending time together."

Chloe had spent the last six months vehemently refusing to work with anyone in a partner capacity. Lucifer would throw a fit when he came back if he found her working with someone else. Because he would be coming back, she told herself. There's no way he could just abandon her. Not after what she had said to him. Not after their… Well, he would have called it a "moment."

"Chloe?" Dan's soft eyes became more concerned, his brow furrowing as the silence lengthened and she still hadn't responded to him.

"Fine." Since Lucifer would be coming back - he would - it would serve him right to find her working with Dan. It would drive him nuts. She almost smiled, a ghost of it touching her lips, as she pictured his eyes narrowing and the old insult forming on his lips, _You're back with Detective Douche?_ she could hear him say.

Dan misread the slight upturn to the corner of her mouth, and relief flooded his expression. "Good. See? Fun. I actually have a case all lined up, a man stabbed three times in the back outside his apartment. Nothing taken, so not evidently a robbery…"

Chloe did her best to focus on the details of the case. She had, in her usual manner, thrown herself into her job as she tried to focus on anything other than the gaping hole Lucifer had left in her life when he went back to Hell. At first, she didn't believe it. She'd sat down on Lucifer's couch and waited for him to come home. Maze had arrived first, a few hours later. Her eyes had looked as red-rimmed as Chloe's own.

"Where's Lucifer?" she had demanded in the harsh way she always spoke to Chloe, the words coming out as if she were trying to punch someone with her voice alone.

"I don't know. He said he was going back to Hell. But he wouldn't." The tears started streaming down Chloe's cheeks again, a phenomena that had been happening off and on since he had left. "Would he?"

Maze, of course, hadn't answered. She'd just stared at her coldly and stormed out.

But it wasn't long afterwards that Amenadiel arrived.

"Maze told me that Lucifer left. Returned to Hell."

"That's what he said." The words sounded dead to Chloe's ears, the grief and tears stealing any inflection the words might have carried. Amenadiel's shoulders shrugged in a sympathetic sigh as he sat down next to her and embraced her.

"Oh, Chloe. I am so sorry." Even if he might no longer have had access to his angelic powers, there was something healing in his deep baritone voice. "What happened?"

And she told him. Maybe he'd picked up something from Linda about how to get people to open up to you, because the words were suddenly pouring out of her. About how she realized that she'd rather have Lucifer in her life, no matter what. About her finally admitting her feelings for him. She didn't mention the kiss, that felt too private, but she told him about how Lucifer's response was to tell her he was leaving anyway… How she had begged him not to go. Begged. And how, ultimately, she couldn't make him stay.

She'd fallen asleep crying into Amenadiel's shoulder. And he must have carried her home, because she'd woken up in her own bed.

Word must have gotten around that Lucifer had gone, because even when she'd gone back into work, no one had asked about Lucifer. Dan had looked at her with sad eyes, because even if he could be, as Lucifer put it, a Douche, Dan always had her best interest at heart and didn't want to see her hurting. But all he did was ask her how she was feeling and didn't press the issue when she told him she was great and ready to work. Even Ella, who clearly wanted to say something, had just hugged her and given her the latest update on the evidence she'd been examining. Chloe saw that Ella had put her cross necklace back on. She wondered what Lucifer would have thought about it. She'd left the lab quickly after that.

Since then, Linda had tried talking to her once or twice. Chloe had insisted she was fine, she was great. And Linda hadn't pressed any harder than that - she couldn't, after all, help someone who didn't want to be helped. And as for finding a new partner at work… Up until today, they'd suggested once or twice that someone go with her on this case or that one. But again, no one had ever pressed her when she said she was fine on her own.

But it had been six months.

* * *

Chloe arrived with Dan on the scene of the crime and ducked under the yellow crime scene tape. Ella was, of course, already there.

"Hey guys!" she greeted them, her smile somehow managing to make the LA sun seem even brighter. "Pretty messed up stuff here. Who stabs someone in the _back_? I mean, figuratively, too, but in this case literally. He was stabbed THREE times, even though the first one definitely had already killed him. Sliced right through his spinal cord. They didn't even take the knife, just left it sitting in his back. I'll check it for prints when I get back to the lab."

"Any witnesses?" Dan asked.

"Not to the murder itself," Ella shrugged. "One of his neighbors saw the body when he was leaving for work. He's over there, if you want to talk to him."

Chloe went over to the guy that Ella had indicated.

"Hi, I'm detective Chloe Decker. I was hoping you could answer a few questions for me." She managed a polite, professional smile at the man before her. He was wearing khakis and a striped polo shirt. It wasn't exactly casual wear, but it didn't scream office job, either.

"Ben Traiper. As I told the police, I was just trying to go to work and I saw John laying there with the knife in his back. Called 911 immediately. Don't know much else."

"Did you know John well?" Chloe made a mental note to find out the victim's last name. She glanced over and saw Dan talking to one of the other officers on the scene - he was probably gathering all of the victim's personal information.

"Not really. We just lived in the same building, you know? I used to see him with some girl most of the time, but I haven't seen her around in awhile. But I never really had any conversations with him. The only reason I know his name at all is because his mail once accidentally ended up in my box instead of his. Just one of those stupid ad magazines, but I thought it was polite to return it all the same."

"Right. Okay. Well, if you think of anything else, here's my card." She wondered if there was any chance this guy had anything to do with the murder. Had maybe wanted the guy's apartment, or his parking spot, or for some other reason… She hadn't realized how much she'd come to depend on Lucifer to find out what drove people until she didn't have him anymore. If he was around, he could have just asked Ben what he _really desired_ and if it didn't have anything to do with the victim, that line of questioning would be cleared. Now she'd have to talk to the landlord, maybe other neighbors… And all that in addition to the girl that Ben had mentioned. She sighed as her chest panged at the thought of how pleased with himself Lucifer always looked when he discovered people's desires.

Would this ever get any easier?

Ella must have noticed the look on Chloe's face as she turned away from Ben, because suddenly Chloe found herself face-to-face with the other girl. Ella's face had taken on the unfamiliar solemn look it got when she was having a serious conversation about people's feelings.

"Chloe, I know you've been avoiding it, and I have too, honestly, but just so you know...if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you." She paused. "I miss him, too, you know."

For the first time, Chloe's stomach dropped with guilt instead of sorrow. She knew she missed Lucifer. More than she could bear, it felt like. She hadn't even taken the time to consider how Ella might feel.

"Oh, Ella, I'm so sorry. I've been so wrapped up in my own head. Are _you_ doing okay?"

"I am. I just don't like seeing you look so sad all the time. And I'm sure that's not what he would have wanted, either, wherever he is. I can't act like I get why he left, because I don't, because, well, he always seemed REALLY into you, Chloe. So I can't even imagine how abandoned you must feel. Is there something I can do to help? A girl's day, maybe? I mean, I know I really messed up the bachelorette party, but a girl's day I could definitely do." Ella offered up a hopeful smile.

Well, Chloe didn't necessarily want a girl's day, but… "Sure," she agreed. After all, there was no reason to freeze out her friends. She needed to start moving on.

"Great! I'll pick you up tonight!"

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be alright with Trixie for an extra night?" Chloe asked Dan over the phone for the zillionth time that night. She'd felt bad, both for asking Dan and for cancelling a night with Trixie, but she did need to try and balance the relationships in her life. Her relationship with her daughter was obviously her most important one, but that didn't mean she couldn't also enjoy time with her friends. And she hadn't spent any time with friends in awhile.

"Of course! We're going to eat chocolate cake to celebrate the occasion and everything. Go out and have fun. It'll be good for you. I already told Ella to make sure to take care of you and see to it that you get home in one piece."

"Thanks, Dan. Tell Trixie that I love her and I'll see her tomorrow."

They both said goodnight and hung up just as Ella rang Chloe's doorbell. When Chloe answered the door, however, Ella's expression went from bright smile immediately into a scowl.

"What?" Chloe asked.

"You cannot wear that." Chloe looked down at her sweat and jeans.

"Why not?"

"Why not? Because we are having a GIRLS night. We are going to go out, and get drinks, and we are going to look hot while doing so. Not look like frumpy moms."

"I AM a frumpy mom."

"Not tonight you aren't." Ella shoved her way into Chloe's room and started in on her closet.

After a couple minutes of digging while Chloe watched from the bed, Ella suddenly shouted out "Ah-hah! Perfect!"

The outfit she had picked out must have been left behind by Maze, whom no one had seen since that night in Lucifer's penthouse. It was a little black dress strategically cut to show off the dips of the wearers' hips and was slit so high and dipped so low Chloe wondered if it actually counted as some sort of swimsuit.

"You're joking."

"Nope, you're gonna look _hot_." And, of, course, at Ella's delighted expression Chloe couldn't say no. So on went the dress.

And Ella was right. She did look hot.

They met up with Linda at a club downtown. Amenadiel had agreed to watch over Charlie for the night just like Dan had agreed to watch Trixie. Soon, all three of them were very drunk and dancing to the pulsing music on the dancefloor. And they were laughing, something Chloe hadn't done in a very long time. Not that she was thinking about that. She wasn't thinking about much of anything, really, with her thoughts sliding like oil over metal, lubricated by the alcohol. She thought more in bursts, smiling at Linda and Ella's smiling faces in turn, feeling her own body move to the music as if it was a part from herself, seeing the lights flash in a not-quite-dizzying manner.

And then she saw a man in a suit slip through the crowd. Just a brief glance. But she knew it wasn't Lucifer. And she was forcibly reminded that this wasn't Lux. If she was at Lux, maybe he would be there. He was always there. Wasn't he? No. He was gone. And even if she went there, he wouldn't be.

A sob broke past Chloe's lips and she tore her way out of the crowd, Ella and Linda following.

Her friends helped get her an Uber and got her back to her house. The driver kept giving them worried glances, but Linda's glare seemed to be fierce enough to keep him from voicing his questions. Ella continually rubbed her back until the sobs faded to silent tears.

They both invited themselves in and sat by her on her couch.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "I was having fun."

"It's okay, sweetie," Linda assured her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I... " It seemed as though the alcohol had loosened her lips as well as her thoughts. "I just miss him. And it hit me that we should have been at Lux, and he should have been there."

"Lucifer?" Linda asked. Chloe nodded. She couldn't say his name. She hadn't, actually. Not since the night he'd left.

"You know, when I miss my grandma, sometimes I'll pray to her. I know she can't really hear me, but it helps, you know? Just talking out loud to her, thinking about what she'd tell me? I know that Lucifer isn't dead, but you could always try it anyway," Ella said.

"What?" Again, the hoarse whisper. Pray? To Lucifer? She almost laughed. No one prayed to the Devil. Ella couldn't even appreciate the irony of her suggestion. But then again…

"Actually…" Linda spoke up. "That may not be a bad idea. It might… reach him. Somehow. Through the...vibes... of the universe." She looked at Chloe meaningfully. Ella, clueless to the true meaning but always an enthusiastic supported, agreed.

"Exactly!"

"I don't know. Maybe. Anyway, you guys should go. Thanks for taking me out tonight." Chloe made a valiant attempt at a watery smile.

"Alright. Well thanks for coming out with us, Chloe. We've really missed you."

"Yeah. And I'll see you tomorrow at work, okay?" Ella added.

And then they left.

Chloe sat on her couch for awhile, thinking about what they'd said. Pray. To Lucifer. Since he was an angel…. He might actually hear her. Maybe if he knew she still missed him… She couldn't even let herself finish that thought. But she couldn't stop the hope from springing up in her chest, making her feel alive for the first time in awhile. Sighing, and feeling silly, she got down in a kneeling position by her couch, closed her eyes, and put her hands together. _Here goes nothing…_

* * *

_Lucifer? _

Lucifer stopped dead in his tracks. He's been… well, enjoying wasn't quite the right word, was it?... experiencing, then? his usual walk through the cells in Hell. Letting the pad of his feet echo over the distant sounds of screaming that the doors didn't quite block out. Despite being surrounded, in a sense, by billions of beings, both humans and demons, Hell had a sort of oppressive loneliness that could be felt like a heavy air pressure. One could almost feel it as a physical sensation against the skin.

_Lucifer? Are you there? This feels weird. Okay, uhm, so… Well, it's me. And I thought, well, you're not here, so clearly you don't want to be, but, you know, I miss you. I miss you so much. And it wasn't really fair of you to leave. Because, well, we're partners. And you kind of left me hanging. And Trixie misses you._

Who was talking to him? No one had ever prayed to him before. He was, after all, the Devil. He wasn't the one people prayed to. And when had he ever had a partner? And why did this person think he knew a Trixie? He might have, he supposed. It was a hooker's name, and he'd certainly met his fair share of those…

_Do you know how hard it was? Explaining to Trixie that you weren't coming back? _

Yes, he supposed one of his lovers would miss him. He was, after all, wonderful in bed. Still, the thought didn't bring the same self-satisfaction it normally carried. He was too, well, concerned by the obvious misery in the voice praying to him. Which was ridiculous, of course. He was the DEVIL. He didn't get concerned about the feeling of humans. He never had before, anyway.

_Anyway. Maze left, too. No one's seen her. Amenadiel tried to find her after a while, once we realized she wasn't coming back, but it turns out she's as good at disappearing herself as she was at finding other people who'd disappeared. _

The voice knew Mazikeen? And Amenadiel? Was one of his sister's praying to him? But no… Lucifer would have known it was one of them.

_Charlie's doing good. He and Trixie hang out sometimes. Dan and I are working together again. We just started a new case, someone got stabbed in the back. I'm sure you would have found it boring since it had nothing to do with you. _

Lucifer waited, frozen in place, hardly breathing. For a moment, it felt like the voice was the only real thing in the entire universe.

_I miss you. I know I already said that, but it's still true. Lucifer. Amen… I guess._

Lucifer stayed motionless. The voice sounded so familiar, but he couldn't place it. And yet, his chest ached at the pain in it. He didn't even know his chest could ache like that. He was an angel, the Devil, he was not human. He didn't suffer from anything as trivial as sympathy.

And yet.

Lucifer started walking again, shaking himself. He'd had no idea what most of that even meant. He'd just put it out of his mind. It's not like he'd ever hear from the voice again. It was better to just forget.


	2. Chapter 2

Window - Chapter Two

* * *

Linda couldn't keep herself from sighing on her way home. Chloe was clearly still grieving and should be seeking help in starting to move on. It was a good sign she had agreed to go out tonight at all, but…

Well, at least Chloe might be able to reach Lucifer by praying. Even after all this time, she wasn't always exactly sure how the celestial things worked, but Linda was fairly certain that at the very least Lucifer could reach Amenadiel by prayer. Maybe it only worked between celestials? Either way, Chloe putting voice to her actual feelings, even if Lucifer didn't hear her, would probably help her. And if Lucifer did hear Chloe, well…

He needed to come home. The longer Lucifer stayed in Hell, the harder it would be for him to come back to LA at all. After all, he must know how he hurt Chloe. Linda knew how his mind worked. If he stayed in Hell too long, mulling over how he'd left things, he'd come to believe that he deserved to be in Hell. Not that he'd say that, of course. He'd rage against the unfairness of it all out loud. But Lucifer? Well, Linda wasn't sure if they'd ever managed to convince Lucifer deep down that he didn't deserve Hell.

That was what made Lucifer so hard to work with. Linda had realized long ago that Lucifer believed, no matter what he did, he was not actually capable of being Good.

Which made it all the more heartbreaking that he tried anyway.

Linda wiped away a tear from her eye as she approached her home, where Amenadiel and Charlie would be asleep waiting for her. Maybe if Lucifer heard Chloe's voice, he'd choose to be with her again, no matter what he thought was for the best. Because the best thing would be for him to be here. Everything was falling apart without him.

Not everything, she supposed. Her family was perfect. She had slipped quietly inside her house and gone into Charlie's room to check on him. She smiled as she looked down at her sleeping boy. Her sleeping angel boy. She planted a soft kiss on his head and slipped out of his room just as quietly.

But without Lucifer, and having failed to get Eve to see her true feelings, Maze had left. Linda knew Maze was safe - not only because Linda was sure Maze could handle herself in any situation that came up, but because every couple weeks or so a new gift arrived for Charlie. Some were more appropriate than others. The stuffed tiger? Great. The knife Maze had used to capture her first bounty? Not so great.l But that was Maze for you.

Lucifer had been the glue holding their whole little world together. Linda, Chloe, Maze, Eve, Ella, Amenadiel, Charlotte (when she had been alive), Dan… They were all brought together by Lucifer and Chloe's partnership. Without that, it felt like their whole world had stagnated.

These were the thoughts that filled Linda's discerning mind as she slipped into bed next to Amenadiel. Though she thought she'd been quiet, he still turned towards her and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. His natural musk, like the forest in fall, rolled off his bare chest and enveloped her. _Safe_, it told her. _You're safe now._

"Did you have fun?" She could hear the smile in his voice. He knew she'd been missing her friends.

"Yes, until the end. Chloe still misses your brother. We had to go home early. But, I think Ella suggested something that will really help Chloe, and maybe all of us. I think Chloe is going to start praying to Lucifer. You know. To help her process and vent her feelings."

"You what!?" The words came out sharp as he tugged away from her. His face peered into hers, suddenly all seriousness. "That's a terrible idea, Linda." Disapproval dripped from his words.

"Why? Even if he doesn't hear her-"

"-He will."

"Then even better! Maybe he will finally come home! Maze would come back, and he'd get to help watch Charlie grow up, and Chloe would be happier."

"He won't."

"And how do you know, Amenadiel?"

"Because. He doesn't remember who Chloe is."

Linda stopped short. Her breath had been coming a little faster, overjoyed by the idea of their world coming back together again. But this… There was no way Lucifer could forget Chloe. And she told Amenadiel this.

"Look, you may have known your brother for eons, but you were separated for most of that. But I was his therapist, and I am confident that Lucifer could never forget Chloe."

"Yes, he could," Amenadiel replied. "Because I took away his memories of his time here. He remembers the partying and the drinking, but us? Chloe? His time with the police? All gone."

"But," Linda gasped. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Linda," he explained patiently. "What you know of us is fairly unique. You've seen both Lucifer and myself go through major changes. But that only happens around humans. You rub off on us, and humans are changing all the time. Angels… Well, angels are the way we are, otherwise. We don't change in places like Hell or the Silver City, where nothing ever changes.

Lucifer called to me about a month after he first left. I went down to visit him. And he was hurting, Linda. Still. Time passes differently in Hell, so it had felt like much longer to him and he was still just as broken as Chloe is now."

"So why didn't you convince him to leave?" Linda broke in, upset both because her lover hadn't mentioned this before and because he hadn't brought his brother back with him.

"Because it really is for the best that he's down there, Linda. He was right. Without him, there's no one stopping the demons from coming to Earth. And they could come for Charlie again. Ultimately, keeping Charlie safe is the most important thing to me, now." Linda looked in the direction of Charlie's room. Keeping him safe was the most important thing. But surely there had to be a better solution than _this_.

"So what happened?"

"Lucifer asked me to make him forget about everything. Said he couldn't stand feeling like this for all of eternity. He begged me, Linda. It was… unsettling, seeing Lucifer this way. Our Father knows we've had our differences in the past, but I do love my brother. And this was… Well. I could see why he was asking what he did. So I agreed to help him. I did the right thing, Linda."

For the second time that night, Linda had to wipe away a tear from her eye.

"So he'll go back to being the Lucifer he was when he first arrived?"

"Maybe. He will definitely think like he did before he arrived in LA and started working with Chloe. But he may still changed by the memories, even if he doesn't remember what did the changing. He won't hurt as sharply, but I imagine he'll still have more empathy for humans than he used too. Not really a good quality for the ruler of Hell, but some things might be irreversible."

"So what will he think when he hears Chloe praying to him?"

"I'm not sure. Hopefully, he'll just put it out of his mind."

"He's never been able to put her out of his mind before."

"I know," Amenadiel sighed. "That's what worries me."

* * *

Chloe got up from her knees. Praying to Lucifer had been… strange, to say the least. She hadn't even prayed to God in longer than she could remember. So to pray to someone she considered her friend? Weird.

She didn't expect him to answer, not really. Praying really had made her feel better, even made her feel more connected to him. And Lucifer had an annoying habit of not being around when she asked and showing up when she didn't. So it would be a fundamental misunderstanding of his character for her to think he might answer her now.

She went to bed feeling calmer than she had in months, thinking she might do this prayer thing more often. She'd already decided that having Lucifer in her life at all was always going to be better not having him. So if she had to closer her eyes and fold her hands and feel kind of stupid every so often to feel connected to him? So be it.

* * *

Chloe showed up to the police station the next day and people looked surprised, but pleased, when she smiled while calling out greetings to them. Even Dan looked surprised when she got to his desk and saw her looking happy.

"So Ella did get you home in one piece. And it looks like the night did you some good." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his desk chair, looking pleased with himself for the part he had played in making Chloe feel better. After all, he had only recently begun to return to his normal self after dealing… not so well… with the death of Charlotte.

"You know? It really did. How was Trixie last night? Did she get to school alright?"

"She was great. We had chocolate cake, watched that mermaid show she likes so much, and sent her off to school just fine this morning."

"Good." Chloe smiled again. Even though Trixie had fun on the extra night with her dad, she'd have to make up for ditching her tonight. Maybe they'd order pizza or something. "Do you know if Ella got any prints off the blade she found at the scene yesterday?" Dan rolled his eyes. Right back into work. That was Chloe for you.

"Don't know. Haven't talked to her yet today. Why don't you go ask her while I finish up this paperwork?"

"Sounds good. Thanks, again."

"You have to stop thanking me so much, Chloe. She's my daughter, too."

"Right. Yeah, of course. Sorry, Dan." With one more quick, thankful smile, Chloe headed in the direction of the lab.

Of course, Chloe received a barreling hug as soon as she walked through the door.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Chloe! Every time I plan a night out for us it seems to end up badly! I just wanted you to have some fun!" Ella was always going to be Ella. Talking too fast for anyone to get ahead of her.

"Ella, I had a great time last night. I was actually hoping we'd get to do it again, soon."

"Really?" Ella pulled back from the hug to study Chloe's face. It was incredible the way she'd been able to mix equal amounts of hope and suspicion into a single word. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"Nope." Chloe smiled the other girl, and the same surprised reaction everyone else responded with flashed across Ella's face, chased off immediately by joy.

"Awesome! I'll start planning right now!"

"Well, maybe not right now," Chloe stopped her. "I'm actually here to see if you found out anything from the knife."

"Oh! The knife! Right! The whole stab-in-the-back murder thing. Okay. Well. I was able to get prints off the knife, but there was no match for them in the system. It also looks to be just standard-grade kitchen knife, so that's not really a lead anywhere, either."

"Oh," Chloe said, disappointed.

"But I did find this long blonde hair that didn't seem to match anyone that we've talked to yet, so maybe that will help?" Chloe had a flashback to the witness, Ben, mentioning something about a girl that the victim used to hang around with. Maybe if Dan had discovered who that was, they could go talk to her.

"Maybe! Thanks a bunch, Ella."

"Of course! And next time we do a girl's day, I'm thinking brunch. Who doesn't love mimosas?"

"Sounds like fun," Chloe agreed complacently to Ella's enthusiasm. The girl was really the sweetest. She felt grateful that she'd been adopted as an older sister-like figure.

Dan caught up with her as she exited the lab.

"Did Ella find anything?"

"Prints, but no match. She did find a long blonde hair, though. The guy who found the body had mentioned the vic used to hang out with a girl a lot. Did you find anything about that?"

"Yeah, actually, I did. I looked back through his old facebook posts and up until about 4 months ago, most of the pictures he uploaded included Bella Frasier, who looked to be his girlfriend. She was in almost every single one. And then, suddenly, she wasn't in any of them anymore."

"So probably a break up?"

"I'd guess. You wanna go talk to her?"

"It's as good a place to start as any."

Discreetly, as she was walking, Chloe folded her hands together.

_Dan and I are going to talk to our victim's ex-girlfriend. She's blonde. _Chloe smiled, thinking of the way Lucifer could make people melt in front of him. _I think you would have come along for this one, boring case or no. _She wondered if Lucifer could hear the smile in her thoughts as she pictured it.

_...boring case or no._

* * *

The voice sounded amused, at the end. Lucifer had frozen, again, when it started coming through. He'd been on his throne, surveying his "kingdom." This time the prayer had come out of nowhere, no greeting or anything. Like the voice just wanted to keep him updated on what was going on. And although he did like blondes - he liked brunettes and redheads, too come to think of it - it was a strange message altogether. He remembered that the last time the voice had spoken to him, it had mentioned something about someone getting stabbed in the back. That must be the victim. Then why is the voice and this "Dan" person going to talk to the ex girlfriend? She kept referring to it as a "case."

Lucifer mused about this for awhile. It's not like he had anything better to do with his time, after all, than to try and decipher what these prayers were all about.

Referring to victims and cases, it reminded him of Bones. He remembered, vaguely, having watched all 12 seasons of it. For the existence of him, he couldn't imagine why he would waste his time in such a way. Surely sleeping would have been a more useful to spend at least part of that time, rather than cramming that much television into a single week.

So the voice must be some sort of criminal investigator. She hadn't yet mentioned anything particularly scientific, so probably the investigator. The agent.

Somehow, that word didn't feel right.

With a few flaps of his wings, Lucifer left his throne and landed on the ground below. Before him, a demon darted into one of the rooms to torture his next victim. He frowned.

He had never used to care, much, before. That the humans spent eternity being tortured. After all, he was giving them what they deserved. Even they believed that - if they didn't, they wouldn't be here in the first place. He had never been as enthusiastic about it as the demons, but he had certainly played his part. As the ruler of Hell, he'd even had some of the grander ideas. Now though, he found himself distancing himself from the actual punishment part of the job. Not for all of them, of course. Some humans were truly vile, truly _evil_, and he still found pleasure in their punishment. It was the others… The ones who had made made a few more mistakes than their conscience could bare, but weren't necessarily evil. It wasn't so much that he didn't still think those souls here deserved punishment. He did. It was just for the first time he felt some guilt in doing so. Like somehow he'd be letting someone down.

Ridiculous. This was his Dad-given job, after all.

Lucifer continued walking through the tall columns, past the thousands upon thousands of doors, making sure they were all still shut. While he did, he let his mind wander back to the voice. If not an agent, and not a scientist, then what? An officer? An investigator? A… detective?

The word seemed to ring in the back of his skull. Not so much a memory as a habit. As if he'd forgotten to breathe for awhile and suddenly his lungs had filled with air. It wasn't something he would usually think about, but it felt right.

And it certainly felt familiar in his mouth, like a word that his mouth had formed a million times before as he spoke the word out into the muted, not-quite-silence around him. "_Detective?"_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

* * *

Chloe knocked on the door belonging to a Ms. Bella Frasier. This caused what sounded like the yapping from a small dog to ring out incessantly. She heard a female voice hushing the dog and moving to the door before it opened.

"Hello?" The girl had nearly white-blonde hair falling in perfectly arranged "beach" waves down to her elbow, big and round, baby blue eyes, and was wearing a bright red dress that hugged her curves. It never failed to amaze Chloe that some people would put more work

into their look for hanging around their house than she did into going out.

"Are you Bella Frasier?" she asked.

"Yes. Can I help you with something? I'm not interested in any pamphlets or anything."

"I'm Detective Chloe Decker, this is my partner Detective Dan Espinoza. We're here to ask you a few questions about John Tanner." She'd gotten the victim's full name from Dan after she'd spoken to the witness. Bella's brown furrowed.

"Is he okay?"

"He's been murdered," Dan informed her. Bella gasped, covering her mouth with her hands and her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," Chloe said, eyeing Dan. "We'd like to ask you a few questions to help us determine what might have happened to him, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Bella replied as she stepped away from the doorframe to let them in. She had a cute little living room set up with blue fake-suede couches and white wicker furniture. "Would you like to take a seat?"

"No, that's alright. How well did you know John?"

"Well," Bella sniffled. "We dated for about two years, up until four months ago. We broke up. It was over something silly, I can't even remember what now. But we were about to get back together." She sounded more and more distressed as she went on. Chloe felt bad for the girl, she did. She couldn't imagine losing someone just as they were about to come back into your life.

Wait.

"So," Chloe rushed out, trying to cut off that train of thought before it got started, "when was the last time you saw John?"

"I saw him two days ago. It's why I can't believe he's gone. He seemed totally fine! We were discussing our new relationship." Bella sniffled again.

"Do you know if he had started seeing anyone else, anyone that might have been jealous about the two of you getting back together?" Dan asked.

"Of course he hadn't," Bella snapped, glaring at Dan. "He loved me. We were just working through some things those four months."

"Okay, okay," Chloe soothed her. "It's just one of those questions we have to ask." When Bella wasn't looking, though, she and Dan grimaced at each other. Yikes. The girl certainly was invested in that relationship. "Do you know of anyone else who might have a grudge against John? Anyone that might want to hurt him?"

"Not really. I mean. He and his brother fought all the time. Not, like, physically. But Jason was always super jealous of John. John had done better in school, was better at sports, and made more money now."

"Okay, thank you. We'll talk to him. Here's my card in case you can think of anything else." After she handed over her card, she and Dan walked out and back into the car.

"So, what do you think?"

"I think she seemed like a pretty intense girlfriend," Dan said. "But that doesn't mean she murdered the guy. Especially if they had been about to get back together."

"Yeah… Well, we can go check with the brother. See if this sibling-rivalry thing holds up."

"Sounds good."

As Dan called the precinct to get Jason Tanner's address and then drove, Chloe tried to think about the case from Lucifer's perspective. After all, she really had been a better detective with him as her partner. They'd had the highest close rate of anyone in the department.

There was a good chance he would have hit on Bella when he saw her. Greeted her with that annoying half-growled "Oh, hello, there. I'm Lucifer, Lucifer Morningstar" bit he always did.

But what would Bella have said when Lucifer asked her what she desired? It certainly seemed as if what she wanted more than anything else was to be with her boyfriend again.

Chloe frowned. Since she didn't know for sure, it wasn't really all that helpful. She could guess at motives all day, but it wouldn't bring them any closer to finding out who killed John Tanner.

_I'm sure I'm going to regret saying this, Lucifer, because you'll let this go to your head. And a bigger ego is the last thing you need. But things were, if not necessarily easier_ (Chloe was remembering all the times she had felt like she was running circles around Lucifer trying to keep them both out of trouble) _then at least… I don't know. Better._

* * *

Lucifer stood by the gates of Hell, and huffed his amusement. Of course things were better with him around. He was positively charming. But then he frowned, thoughtful. Not many people bothered to tell him things were better with him around, though. Not like that. The demons here loved him, of course. But they didn't have much of a choice, did they? He was their king, after all.

Who was this person? Was this some trick of Dad's?

Ah-hah. That must be what's going on. He wasn't sure what the purpose of this game was, but it had his Father's hand all over it. A voice talking to him, taunting him about how he's not on Earth anymore? Lucifer chuckles low. Oh, Dad was good. He should be the one down here creating punishments - if it weren't happening to him, he'd find it poetic that someone who had gone to a place they weren't supposed to go, now that they couldn't be there, was forced to hear about things he was missing out on.

Well, Dad got one thing wrong. He didn't care. He didn't care about this woman he didn't know or what "case" she was trying to solve.

He ignored the weird acidic feeling in his stomach at these thoughts. He was, suddenly, in the mood to do some punishing. And he could think of a few terrible fathers that he could pay a visit to…

He laughed again - a low, threatening sound - and stalked off in that direction.

* * *

Chloe and Dan arrived at Jason Tanner's townhome and rang his doorbell. And although first impressions weren't exactly reliable evidence, Chloe had a strong gut feeling as soon as she saw the guy that he'd had nothing to do with his brother's death. His eyes were red-rimmed, his hair was greasy and wild, and his clothes were wrinkled and disheveled. He was quite clearly grieving.

"Can I help you?" Jason croaked.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Tanner, but we just have a few questions about your brother's death," Chloe said as gently as she could.

"Please, come in. Anything I can do to help catch the sonofabitch that killed him, I'm happy to do."

"Okay, well, can you tell me about your relationship with John?" Dan asked, taking the initial lead for questioning.

"Well, we were brothers. So we fought a lot. But I loved him, you know? If I had known he'd be gone... " Jason trailed off for a moment. "Everything we fought about just seems so petty, now."

"What did you fight about?"

"Responsibility, mostly. Everything came easy to John, so he never took anything seriously."

Chloe looked at Dan. This questioning wasn't going anywhere. Nothing about what he was saying indicated that he'd be angry enough to murder.

"How was his relationship with Bella, do you know? Bella Frasier?"

"Bella? She was crazy. Very jealous, very clingy. I think he finally broke it off with her four months ago. Said it was the best decision he

ever made."

"So you don't think there's any chance of him getting back together with her?"

"No way."

"Alright," Chloe said. "Well, if you think of anything else, please give us a call."

"Absolutely."

When they got back to the car, Chloe looked at Dan.

"Well, he seemed pretty confident that he and Bella would never have gotten back together."

"Hmm. But you didn't see anything on his social media that he'd started publicly seeing another girl?"

"No, nothing."

"Let's check his phone logs. Maybe we can find out if maybe he was seeing someone and Bella saw them together."

* * *

Back at the precinct, Chloe stopped by to see Ella while she waited for Dan to go through the phone records.

"Hey Ella."

"Hi Chloe! You know, I didn't want to say anything earlier unless it was some kind of fluke, but you seem happier today. It's nice."

"Yeah," Chloe smiled. "I suppose I am happier today."

"What caused the change?"

"Well, our girl's night! That, and your suggestion. You know, to pray? It… I can't explain it, but it makes me feel more connected to him, even if he doesn't answer. And something is better than nothing."

"Hmm," Ella replied, studying Chloe's face.

"Oh, sorry," Chloe started for the door. "I wanted to plan our brunch, but it looks like Dan found something in the phone records more quickly than I would have thought. Rain check?"

"Sure, Chloe. See you later."

Ella frowned as she watched Chloe go. Maybe she should make a prayer of her own.

_Hey, Big Guy. I know things were pretty rock-y for a while between us, and that was definitely my bad. I was, just… going through some things. But I wanted to talk to you about Lucifer. I'm not really sure how you feel about his whole claiming-to-be-the-Devil thing, but on the other hand he definitely believes in you, so that's got to be a plus, right? Well anyway. I'm not sure why he left. And if that's all part of your plan, great. But if it's not… Well, there are a lot of people here in LA who miss him. Chloe, for one. And me. I miss him, too. So if it could be part of your plan for him to be here, instead, that would be awesome. _

_Say hi to Abuela for me. Amen._

* * *

"So," Dan said, holding out the phone records. "I found something, but not what we thought. It seems as though Bella was lying. We have a text from a number belonging to Bella saying 'Hey, was just thinking about you. I miss you.' But here's the thing - John had deleted Bella's number so his only reply was 'Sorry, who is this?' That's where the communication stopped. So it doesn't seem likely they were about to get back together."

"I guess we need to go back and talk to Bella, then."

"Hello? Oh, it's you guys. Did you talk to Jason?" Bella answered the door when Dan knocked.

"Hi, Bella. We did, actually. We just had to stop back by because we realized we'd forgotten to ask where you were at the time of John's death. Just protocol, you understand."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, I was at home. Reading a book."

"Was anyone with you?"

"No, I was by myself."

"That's interesting. Because Jason said there was no chance that John would never get back together with you. And when we checked John's phone records, it looks like he didn't even have your number anymore. Didn't even know who you were when you texted him." Bella's face twisted at these last words, and she started crying.

"I can't believe him, you know? I _loved_ him. And he was forgetting about me! That's so much worse than him just moving on. It was like I'd never even mattered to him." Chloe stared. There was no way. It was never this easy.

"So you…stabbed him?"

"I didn't mean to. I just meant to, you know, scare him. Wave a knife around. See if he'd remember _that_. But when I saw him, he didn't even give my car a second glance, I just… lost it. I'm sorry, I loved him." And Bella dissolved completely into tears.

Chloe and Dan shared a look. Well. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Dan began to read Bella her rights and put her into cuffs.

Chloe thought Bella was clearly crazy. But she could understand why she'd been upset. It seemed a little forcefully harsh that after spending two years together John would be trying to forget about Bella altogether. Two years was two years, after all.

* * *

That night, at the lab, Ella was able to match the prints on the knife to those of the girl that Dan and Chloe had brought in. They might not be her favorite team, but Ella couldn't deny that Dan and Chloe were effective together.

She cleaned up her lab space and felt a slight thrill of satisfaction as the key clicked when she locked the door on her way out. It was nice, when she was able to go home after helping provide justice for one of the victims she found lying at a crime scene. Getting into her car, she drove out of the lot, looking forward to a beer when she got home.

She was only a few minutes into her drive when, for the second time in her life, she heard a loud screech, a crash, and then saw black.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

* * *

Azrael was in a small village in the Himalayan Mountains when she was called to LA. At first, she couldn't believe what she was feeling. Then, the sound of beating wings filled the air as she rushed to the other side of the world.

The crash was… Not good. Ella's car wasn't crushed so much as destroyed. Azrael pulled gently pulled the mangled door away from warped frame. Her stomach hurt and she didn't want to see what was inside. But this was her job; there was no one else to do it. She held her breath as she peered into the car.

Ella's arm was bent at an angle that it was most definitely not supposed to be bent. Some piece of metal that had detached from the car had lodged its way into her rib cage. Blood seeped down from the gash in her head.

And for the second time in Ella's life, Azrael let out her breath in relief. A false alarm; Ella would, in fact, be able to survive these injuries if the medics got here soon enough. And she could already hear the sirens approaching.

She stepped back and watched as the EMT's arrived and dug Ella out of the car. When Azrael met Ella, it had also been in the case of a car crash. In that case, though, Ella hadn't even lost consciousness. When she'd seen the arrival of the Angel of Death, she hadn't even recognized what she'd only narrowly escaped. Instead she'd greeted Azrael like a friend.

"Oh my gosh, were you in the crash, too? Are you okay?" she'd asked.

"Me? Oh...I'm fine."

"That's awesome. My name's Ella."

"I'm Rey-Rey," she'd told the young girl. She'd just seemed so nice, it felt more natural to say the affectionate nickname given by her siblings.

"That's a nice name. Hey...If you're not doing anything, I mean, if you have to stay here anyway, would you, you know, stay with me for awhile?" Ella had asked, finally letting a little bit of how freaked out she was by the crash show in her face.

Azrael had been unable to say no, and from there they'd bonded very quickly. Ella had eventually realized while talking to the EMT that no one else could see her new friend, and Rey-Rey had quickly come up with the improvised excuse of being a ghost. It had almost caused the EMT to report that Ella had head trauma, but eventually it was decided among the adults that Ella had an imaginary friend.

So now that Ella had ended up in another car crash, this time unconscious, Azrael still felt like she needed to stay. Because she could still hear the small girl asking in a small voice, once upon a time, "Stay with me for awhile?" Ella had been the first human that had ever looked at Rey-Rey for protection rather than trying to avoid her. It was a nice feeling. Being wanted. Ella had that effect on most people, Azrael had eventually gathered. She had a way of making people feel like things were better with them around.

During the ambulance ride to the hospital and during the hospital admission, Azrael stayed by Ella's side. And she stayed during the surgery to repair Ella's lung from where the metal had punctured it, and while they wrapped and stitched her head. She stayed while Ella was sleeping, in bed, stabilized. It wasn't until Chloe and Dan, having heard what happened, arrived, that she finally felt like she could relax. At least there was no longer any chance that Ella would wake up alone.

During the time that she'd spent in the hospital, Azrael had felt incredibly helpless. She'd wanted so much to help, but as the angel of death, saving people was basically the opposite of her given skill set. She couldn't even be here to protect Ella, as she had a job that required her to be elsewhere at most times. That's why Azrael had left her with Lucifer.

And that was where her mind had stuck. Why had Lucifer left LA? He knew that she had entrusted Ella to his care. Her big brother wasn't usually in the habit of letting her down, so why this time? He had his own humans he cared for, so he was certainly aware of the stakes.

It was time she paid Lucifer a visit.

* * *

"Rey-Rey? What are you doing here? Not that I'm not pleased to see you, this is just unexpected." Lucifer smiled at his sister. "I would have, you know, cleaned up or something," he added, gesturing around at the bleak Hell around him.

"I wanted to know why you left LA." Rey-Rey had found it was easier to just cut to the chase with Lucifer.

"Ah. Yes, well. Turns out the demons get rowdy when I'm away. And we can't have them overrunning the Earth, now, can we?" Lucifer grimaced. Sometimes he considered going back to Earth, anyway, the rules be damned. But then, if demons turned Earth into another Hell anyway there wouldn't be much a point to leaving in the first place.

"Can't you just, I don't know, scare them into submission and come back occasionally to make sure they still follow the rules?"

"Obviously," Lucifer scoffed, "You underestimate the amount of work it takes to keep this place running." His first instinct was to make out his job to be extremely difficult, thus increasing his own esteem by being able to do it. After all, there was very little he got out of being King of Hell and a lot of downsides. The very least he could get is a little respect for it from his siblings.

But now that she mentioned it, it might be possible to handle things that way. Take short vacations away from Earth to make sure that everything was going as it should down here…

"But you were supposed to be watching over Ella." Rey-Rey could hear the grumbling in her own voice, but didn't seem able to stop it.

"And who, pray tell, is Ella?" Lucifer's look sharpened, intrigue focusing his gaze.

"Ella. My friend, Ella." Rey-Rey stared back at him. "You know her."

"I most certainly do not."

"What are you talking about? I told you that I wanted her in LA specifically because I could trust you to keep an eye on her. Or, I thought I could." Rey-Rey knew that was a low blow. There were few beings in all of history better known for their pride than her brother.

"Excuse me. I would love to keep an eye on your _friend_, but I'm a little busy looking over _all of Hell_, thank you very much. Besides, a little ironic, don't you think, the Angel of Death trying to _protect_ a human?" Lucifer was clearly peeved.

"Exactly. I can't protect her. I need you to do it." Lucifer watched her, clearly weighing his options. On one hand, he had Hell to watch over. On the other, he didn't really want to be in Hell. And doing something to protect someone… Well, he wasn't willing to spend the time self-reflecting enough to try and figure out why, but he rather liked the idea.

"It would be like… a favor," Rey-Rey sealed the deal. A slow smile spread over Lucifer's face.

"Well. How could I say no to that? It could definitely come in handy, having the angel of death owe me a favor. You've got yourself a deal. I watch over this… Ella… and you owe me a favor."

Rey-Rey had no idea why Lucifer would act as though he didn't know Ella. But then, he did a lot of things she didn't understand. He was honest, though. So if he said he'd watch over Ella, he would.

"Great. She'll probably be in the hospital for a week before going back to work at the precinct."

_Even better_, Lucifer thought. _I have a whole week to celebrate my return to Earth before finding this Ella._

* * *

The elevator dinged as Mazikeen stepped out, Eve behind her. Her eyes narrowed as she looked across the sea of humans in various stages of intoxication - some buzzed and chatting among friends, some writhing on the dancefloor, many making out on the many seats available, and some were passed out, drinks still sitting half-consumed nearby.

Lux was just how she remembered it from her first days here on Earth. And if she had to guess, based on the ratio of passed out humans to awake humans and the number of empty glasses the bartenders had failed to pick up, this particular party had been going on for about 6 days. Eve giggled.

"Oooh," she said. "I'd forgotten how fun this place could be. Why didn't we come back before, Maze?"

"Because Lucifer wasn't here, before."

"But you're sure he's back now?"

"Positive." Maze, whether she wanted to or not, always knew where Lucifer was and who he was with. Like a song caught at the back of her head, not really acknowledged, but constantly repeating over and over anyway. She hadn't believed it, six months ago, when she'd first felt Lucifer's departure from Earth to return to Hell. After she'd spent nearly a year begging him to send her back, for him to leave without her… She was still pissed about it, actually. Not that she hadn't enjoyed her time since he'd left her - a triumphant smile twitched at the corner of Maze's lips and she reached back, grabbing Eve's hand - but how dare he, anyway? She had rushed back to his penthouse to find Chloe crying on Lucifer's couch.

She'd felt… bad, for Chloe. But Maze had her own problems to deal with at that time. Lucifer abandoning her, Eve leaving… she couldn't stand to be there at that time. So she'd gone to let Amenadiel know what happened and left the country. About three weeks ago was when she'd run into Eve. They'd been inseparable since.

About 6 days ago, though, she'd felt Lucifer's return to LA. At first Maze had thought it was a fluke, or a temporary thing. Maybe he'd forgotten his favorite suit or something. But he'd stayed, so she told Eve that they had to come back to LA. Mostly so she could kick Lucifer's ass for abandoning her in the first place.

Eve, always down for anything, had agreed.

Now Maze scanned the crowd, trying to pinpoint which body among the mass belonged to her king.

There. Squeezed between two girls at the bar, Lucifer looked as though he was engaged in the foreplay to a threesome. Maze stalked over, Eve, still holding her hand, following.

"Mazikeen!" Lucifer called out as he saw her approach, barely extricating himself from the girls attached to him enough to hold a conversation. "It's so good to see you. It's been awhile. And - is that Eve? What is she doing here?" Lucifer looked delighted and the slur in his voice suggested he had managed to drink enough alcohol to overpower even his metabolism.

"I'm here to kick your ass for leaving me behind when you went back to Hell. You didn't even ask if I wanted to go."

"Yes, well, demon rebellion and all that. Had to take care of it. But I'm back! For a good long while, I think." He grinned, his attention slipping back to the girls at his side.

"The rebellion handled then? Everything's just… Fine, now?" Derision dripped from her tone.

"Right as rain, Mazikeen." Lucifer's attention was entirely lost now, he was much too concerned with nuzzling necks to converse with her, apparently.

"Lucifer!" Eve finally piped up, stepping past Maze. "You haven't even said hi to me. That's not very polite."

"Hmm?" Lucifer looked up, barely. "Oh, Eve. Yes, hello. Good to see that you're not in Heaven anymore. Finally got bored, did you?"

"Yes…" Eve frowned. "But I told you that already."

"Did you? Must have forgotten. My apologies. But unless you would like to join, you can see that I am a little preoccupied right now…" Maze studied Lucifer. Something was definitely… off… about him, but she couldn't lay her finger on what. He seemed more like the Lucifer she'd known for eons. The Lucifer he'd been when he'd first left Hell for LA seven years ago.

"I'm surprised you didn't run back to Chloe the second you got back," Maze ventured. She continued to study Lucifer's face, looking for the slightest of reactions.

"I'm not really sure who Chloe is, Maze, but I'm sure she can have her turn after these two."

Eve and Maze looked at each other. Something was definitely wrong with Lucifer. Maze knew Lucifer better than possibly anyone, and this seemed like genuine disinterest. And, well, Lucifer didn't lie. So if he said he didn't know who Chloe was, then he didn't. Or thought he didn't. Or… Well, she didn't know.

"You don't know who Chloe is?" she repeated, tone flat.

"No, Maze, and honestly, right now I don't care. Can we pick up this conversation later?" His tone was dismissive and slightly aggravated that Maze was continuing to bother him. Nothing about his tone indicated this was one of the times he was choosing to be willfully ignorant for some reason or other.

Maze mulled this over. Lucifer came back and didn't remember Chloe. Maybe he came back because he didn't remember her? She still didn't understand the memory loss, but it certainly seemed to be real. And Chloe did have an interesting way of unintentionally pushing guys in her life away…

"Maze, can we go play?" Eve was eyeing the dancefloor, clearly over trying to figure out what was going on with Lucifer. This was probably for the best; if she'd cared too much, Maze would probably have had issues fighting off some jealousy.

"Of course," Maze smiled. "There's just something I have to do first. I'll meet you, okay?"

"Okay." Eve smiled and gave Maze a quick kiss before heading out into the throng of other humans. Maze watched her go, admiring her girlfriend, before leaving Lux to go see an old friend.

* * *

Chloe was sitting on her couch, thinking about how glad she was that Ella was recovering so well from the crash. She and Dan had gone to see their favorite lab tech every day since the accident, but Ella was finally about ready to leave the hospital. Ella kept saying she was going to return right to work, despite Chloe and Dan's assurances that rest and recovery at home was more important.

When the door clicked open, Chloe's heart rate shot up. She wasn't expecting anyone and Trixie was already in bed. Grabbing her gun (which, after all the weird experiences she'd been in, especially in the last couple of years, was never far away), she slowly approached the front door.

And froze when she saw who was there.

"Maze?"

"Hi Chloe," Maze smiled, genuinely glad to see her friend again.

"Maze, where have you been? It's been _months._ It wasn't just me you walked out on, you know. Linda, Amenadiel, Trixie…" Maze just shrugged.

"I was dealing with some stuff. Wanted to see other places on this Earth, since Lucifer wasn't here anymore."

"Oh." Chloe could feel herself recede into herself at the mention of Lucifer's name. People didn't bring it up around her anymore, so mostly it wasn't an issue. Hearing his name for the first time in awhile was harder than she expected. "So why are you back?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What?" Chloe took this opportunity to put her gun away and leaned against the counter. She was wary of the way Maze was approaching this subject. For the most part, she was very outspoken and forthright. It had to be something very serious for her to be approaching the subject softly.

"Lucifer's back." Chloe was suddenly grateful she was leaning against the counter because she could feel her knees go weak.

"What?" she gasped. "He's back? In LA?"

"Yup." Maze remained stone-faced, her posture offensive. Linda had once mentioned that she approached tough situations offensively, rather than defensively. According to the good doctor, it was apparently her way of "staying in her comfort zone" or something.

"For… for how long?" Chloe's throat worked as she tried to digest this information. Her whole chest seemed paralyzed. Lucifer was back in LA. It didn't seem real. She wasn't sure she could believe it without seeing him. "Is he at Lux?" Maybe she should go over there-

"Chloe. He doesn't remember who you are." Maze didn't meet Chloe's eyes.

"What? That doesn't even make sense, Maze. Lucifer knows me."

"He doesn't. I don't know why either, so don't ask, but I saw him and when I asked why he wasn't with you he said he didn't know who you were." Chloe couldn't believe it. She knew time passed differently in Hell, and she supposed she never really knew for sure that he could hear her prayers, so that was clearly pointless, but even Maze said it didn't make sense.

"Well - well, then I'll just have to remind him, I-"

"I don't think that's a good idea. " Chloe's babbling stopped short at Maze's words.

"What?" she breathed. She seemed to be saying that a lot. But everything about this conversation was impossible. "Why?"

"Because. Every time you tell someone you have feelings for them they leave. First, you tell Dan you want to make things work, and he sent you that break-up text."

"Yeah, but-"

"And then you started to tell Cain, or Pierce, or whatever you want to call him, that you loved him, and _he_ broke up with you."

"Yes, but-"

"And then you told Lucifer you loved him, and he _went back to Hell._"

"That wasn't my fault!" Chloe felt tears streaming from her eyes.

"I'm not saying it was, not directly, but three's a pattern Chloe. And so unless you want Lucifer to leave again, which I don't, it seems best if you just… keep your feelings to yourself. You know?" Maze still hadn't met Chloe's gaze. Rather like Lucifer had, she'd developed some pesky human feelings during her time on Earth and she didn't necessarily want to hurt Chloe. Which was still a weird concept for her, but true all the same.

But what she was saying was necessary. And some things still had to be done, feelings or no.

"Please leave." Chloe didn't have an argument for Maze. Having three of the worst moments of her life, barring her father's death, be paraded in front of her like they'd been her fault was too much. And, logically, they weren't her fault. But a lot of things hadn't been logical since Lucifer had first entered her life, so maybe what Maze was saying was true. Maybe, somehow, she was causing this. But she couldn't bare to have Maze stand there while she came to terms with this revelation.

"Okay. I'm sorry, Chloe."

Chloe collapsed on her couch when she heard the door click behind Maze's exit.

Lucifer was back.

Chloe's shoulders shook with silent cries. It had to be the cruelest of jokes.

Lucifer was back, and nothing had changed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

* * *

Ella carefully opened the door to her lab, trying to avoid stretching the stitches in her side. She was glad to be back at work. Sitting around all day, even to heal, had never really been her style. It would help her to get better faster, really, if she got back into a normal routine. She didn't really think that being left alone, miserable, would help to encourage her body to recover.

Everyone had tried to convince her to stay home, naturally. They told her it was too early to return to work. It was sweet that they cared so much. Chloe and Dan had spent a bunch of time with her in the hospital. But Ella knew they needed her back doing her thing. After all, she was really good at her job. And, frankly speaking, those two were both walking disasters. Who knew what sort of trouble they'd get into without her keeping an eye on them.

Nope, a week away was definitely too long. Even just a quick glance around the room told her that some of the other techs had rearranged her carefully organized lab. Those rats. She was going to bake them brownies this week, but now… Well, she'd still make them brownies. But maybe she'd put walnuts in them or something.

Ella had just started reorganizing the chemicals cabinet - someone had reorganized them to alphabetical by common name rather than scientific. Amateurs. - when the door slid open behind her. She turned, with a smile, expecting to see Chloe, or maybe even Dan, and nearly had a heart attack.

"Lucifer?" There he stood, wearing one of his impeccable suits, smiling like he hadn't been gone for months and months. He was grinning in his usual over-joyous way, looking around the place with great interest, as if it were a whole new place he was just discovering. Then his gaze returned to her and-

Ella's eyes narrowed. Did he just _check her out_? Because the way his eyes rolled down her certainly seemed like it.

"You must be Miss Lopez. Well, I can see why Azrael has taken a liking to you. Did she tell you I was coming?" Ella decided that, acting weird or no, pissed that he had left or no, she was, ultimately, still happy to see him. She skipped over and gave him one of her Ella Hugs (patent pending).

Lucifer quickly gripped her arms and pulled them away from himself, backing up with a grimace.

"Ah, yes, hello. Although I understand the impulse to throw your arms around me, maybe in not so… Well, I can think of a few better positions for us to be in, love." His lecherous grin had recovered quickly from Ella's friendly gesture.

"Don't be gross, Lucifer. Welcome back! And where have you been? You just left without even saying goodbye." The look he gave him screamed reprimand.

"I've been in Hell, of course." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You know, I'm very good with faces, but I don't remember you from the last time I was here. Have we met? Did you frequent Lux?"

"Haha, very funny. And I see you're still into that method acting thing." Ella shrugged. "Each to their own, I guess. Does Chloe know you're back? I can't imagine she does, since you're still walking." Chloe had lived in pretty much constant misery since Lucifer had disappeared, as far as Ella could tell. And, knowing Chloe, she was just as likely to be mad at Lucifer for leaving as she was to be happy he'd come back. No one made themselves miserable like Chloe and Lucifer. If the two of them would just cut the crap and admit they liked each other they'd be the cutest couple ever. But nooooo. They had to be difficult.

Lucifer cocked his head to one side. "You're the second person to mention this Chloe to me."

"Well, yeah. You two were practically inseparable."

He looked about to say something when the door slid open from behind him and, after a pause, a soft voice called out.

"Lucifer?"

* * *

Chloe kept glancing at the clock on her computer. Ella came back to work today. Although Chloe wanted to greet Ella upon her arrival, she thought that maybe it would be better to let her settle in before barging in. That's what Chloe would want for herself, and she always tried to treat people the way she would want to be treated.

It was hard, though. Especially because she was having trouble concentrating on work today. She was too busy trying not to think about the conversation she'd had with Maze the night before. She still didn't know how to process it. It would be better just not to think about it. But like a clock ticking in her head, the words kept replaying over and over.

"_Every time you tell someone you have feelings for them they leave."_

Chloe tapped her pencil against the desk, trying to think about anything else. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"_He doesn't remember who you are."_

Chloe stood up. You know what? Ella wouldn't mind being overwhelmed. Ella was very much a likes-to-be-overwhelmed sort of person. Chloe could just go visit her now.

Her steps slowed as she approached the lab. Through the blinds, she was a tall, suited figure talking to Ella. Dark hair. Strong shoulders. Perfect posture.

She would recognize him anywhere. But why would he be here? If he didn't remember her, he wouldn't be expecting to work for the LAPD, would he? Had Maze lied?

She opened the door and, barely able to speak his name - she hadn't said it in sixth months, but it still felt familiar on her tongue - breathed out, "Lucifer?"

He turned and saw her. His eyes took her in, roving up and down her body, taking all of her in. She felt like a deer caught in headlights. It wasn't really like her to not take charge of a situation, but she didn't really feel like she was playing in a fair game. She didn't have all the information. She didn't know where she stood.

"Detective?" His voice sounded more familiar to her than her own, and by calling her by her pet name, he told her where she stood. How could she ever have believed Mazikeen, a demon? How could she ever have believed Lucifer would forget her?

She ran to him, falling into his embrace.

"You came back."

* * *

Lucifer had been having a strange day ever since he stepped into the police precinct. Rey-Rey had mentioned that Ella worked at a precinct during their little talk, so he knew where to look. It hadn't taken long at all to confirm that there was an Ella Lopez that worked in Crime Scene Investigation and that she would be returning to work today.

But he didn't understand what was going on around here. First of all, everyone kept waving to him and welcoming him back. And although he was very pleased to be back in LA, he thought it odd that the police were celebrating it. The police usually disapproved of his general lifestyle. Not that he didn't approve that they were loosening up - he just didn't know that these people knew who he was. Although he supposed that he should be flattered that word of his return had gotten around.

But Miss Lopez also seemed to know him. And he did not remember her. A lot of pretty young girls came through Lux, but Azrael also seemed to think he should know the girl. And although he was offended she seemed to think he was some sort of _method actor_, the warmth with which she greeted him was unexpectedly welcome.

But then Ella had mentioned a "Chloe" that he should know. And this had reminded him that Eve and Mazikeen had said he knew someone by that name as well. Lucifer would have asked about it, but just then the door slid open behind him and a voice called him name. A familiar voice - the same one that had been praying to him.

He turned to look her over. She was certainly very beautiful. There was a slight red rim to her eyes and hollowness to her cheeks, as though she had been very sad for a very long time. But right now, she looked hopeful. Her lips - enticing, and hard to look away from - looked like they were almost ready to smile.

"Detective?" he asked. That was what he had decided she probably was. And here she was, in a police precinct. So it seemed even more likely he'd been correct in his guess. He was feeling very pleased with his inductive skills when the woman suddenly threw her arms around him and… held him.

This was different than the hug that Miss Lopez had given him. He wasn't sure how to articulate the difference, but it was. He felt his arms wrapping around the woman clutching him and holding her closer. But just for a moment. And then he was, ever so gently, removing himself from her grip and stepping back. His eyes swept over her face again, trying to place it. But there was no corresponding memory. Nothing.

"You… You prayed to me. No one prays to me. Do I - I don't know you, do I?" He wanted so badly to take the words back as her face fell and closed off. Maybe Dad was right to put him in Hell. The first human to pray to him and he immediately disappoints her.

"No." Her voice came out half whispered. "No, you don't."

"What are you talking about? Of course he does." Ella was looking between the two of them, totally clueless to what was happening. "Lucifer, what are you on right now? It was one thing to joke around with me, but you just disappeared and now you're acting like you don't even know who Chloe is? What is wrong with you?" Ella didn't often get mad, but she felt her eyes narrow. He was being a jerk.

"I don't lie, Miss Lopez. And, unfortunately, I don't know who this… this is Chloe? The one you mentioned before? I only guessed she was a detective because she mentioned she worked on cases when she prayed to me." His eyes didn't leave the detective's face. She looked sad, but resigned.

"Don't worry about it, Ella. Maze warned me. Lucifer seems to be suffering from some sort of memory loss." Her voice was clipped. Now that she knew where she stood, she felt more in control again. She could handle any situation, as long as she knew what was happening. She could deal with this.

"Memory loss?" Ella asked, at the same time as Lucifer asked,

"You know Mazikeen?"

"Yes." Chloe answered both questions at once. Lucifer looked away from the detective long enough to glance at Ella.

"Actually, that's a very good question. What do you mean, 'memory loss?' I don't suffer from memory loss."

"Don't worry about it, Lucifer. What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was asked to keep an eye on Ella, and she works here. And I very much am worried about it. I do not suffer from _memory loss._" Lucifer felt vaguely offended at the very thought, and it colored his tone. Humans suffered from memory loss when they got old, or got hurt. Neither of those things would, or could, happen to him. And how did the detective know Maze?

"You were asked to keep an eye on me?" Ella asked.

"Yes, my sister Azrael seems to like you. Since she's busy being angel of death and all that - and apparently she thinks running all of Hell is so easy - she asked me to keep an eye on you. And since I'm in the business of doing favors, I accepted." Lucifer grinned cheekily.

"You have a sister? Angel of Death? What?" Ella wondered if she was having a stroke. She was used to Lucifer saying weird, off the wall things, but they didn't usually involve her. She was having trouble keeping up.

"Forget about it, Ella. Lucifer, if you're checking in on Ella, then you can clearly see she's fine, and now you can go. This is a police precinct, not a place to just hang out. Ella, welcome back to work." Chloe flashed Ella a tight smile before walking out. Lucifer made an offended sound.

"Excuse me. I'm not done talking to you. Detective? Detective!?" Lucifer followed Chloe out of the lab.

Ella leaned against the counter. Was it just her, or were those two being even weirder than normal?

* * *

"Leave me alone, Lucifer." Chloe went back to her desk and did an admiral job of focusing on reading the case file in front of her.

"How do you know Maze?"

"We were roommates."

"Roommates? Maze had a _roommate_?"

"Yes."

"And she told you I was suffering from memory loss?"

"Yes." Chloe finally looked away from the file when Lucifer casually sat on her desk. For someone who didn't remember her, he sure was doing a good job remembering how to drive her insane.

"Why?"

"Look. There were a lot of things that happened when you were last in LA that you clearly don't remember. Thus, memory loss."

"What things?"

Chloe sighed. And then she looked at Lucifer.

This was the first time in six months she hadn't felt sad. She'd felt other things in that time, of course. Even occasionally felt happy. But all other emotions had been brought down by an underlying cloud of sadness. Now, though, that wasn't there. She was annoyed, yes. But not sad.

And she remembered what she'd been saying - it was better to have Lucifer in her life than not in her life. So she didn't have to push him out altogether. They could be friends. They could be partners again. As long as she didn't say she loved him, then even if Maze was right about the cause-and-effect of those words, then he wouldn't leave.

"We were… partners. Work partners. You consulted for the LAPD."

"Why would I do that? It sounds incredibly boring."

"Well you managed to make a lot of it about yourself."

"I see." Only Lucifer didn't see. He couldn't suffer from memory loss, and he didn't remember any of this. But why would the detective lie? What would she get out of it?

Was this some sort of trick of his Father's? It was the only thing he could think to explain what was happening. After all, anything vexing in his life was always Dad's fault.

Well. Lucifer wasn't sure what the angle was here, but he would figure it out and thwart whatever was going on. He would not let his Father manipulate him.

"Okay. So. Do we have a case?"

"What?" Chloe looked at Lucifer.

"A case. I'm ready to consult. Come on, Detective. If I'm your partner, then let's go."


End file.
